UCLA offensive lineman Raiqwon O’Neal speaks to reporters after the fall camp session Sunday morning. O’Neill talks about what drew him to Westwood after deciding to leave Rutgers, how he strives to balance young and older voices when trying to be a leader, where he gets the most work in practice and how has begun to adjust to the Southern California lifestyle.
Welcome to Westwood
Thank you for having me. I like it here. So far so good. I love it here, especially being from the East Coast. This is a big change for me. I mean, I’ve lived in Jersey for four years, that helped with the transition, so I’ve really enjoyed it here.
How did this transition come about?
It’s been the recruiting process, both reaching out to both sides, and I just feel like it’s the best fit for me.
What was it about UCLA?
It’s been development on and off the field, especially with what I want to do after football because I want to be in media and broadcasting so that’s the best path for me after football so I didn’t just think either about football, I also thought about life after football.
What do you study?
I am currently in business and entertainment.
Studying us?
Yes Yes Yes. So what you do, I would like to do.
Experience here so far?
I like it here. Everything I’ve been through is getting better every day, I want to be 1% better every day and that’s the goal, to come here and fly, fly, do everything at full speed. We’re going to make mistakes and that’s part of life, you make mistakes but you make them at full speed.
Taking other guys under your wing?
Yes sir I am, I also learn from the young guys because that’s part of being a leader – you can also learn from the young guys; even though I have experience, they can also teach me something I never knew, so we both learn from each other.
What do you learn from them?
Just in terms of technique, a lot of it has to do with technique, especially, you know, I’ve never seen it, they’ve never seen things, so I would say technique and reading the defense.
Laughing when you heard UCLA was moving to the Big Ten?
I laughed. My phone was ringing. My phone kept ringing. You all come to the Big Ten. I was like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
What will it be like for these guys to make the trip to New Jersey?
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I mean, it’s got to be a good experience for them, you know? You don’t always get a chance to go to the West Coast or the East Coast, so it will be a great experience for both countries.
Rutgers home games in late November?
Compared to here? Oh, man. It depends on what you get, you might get a strong wind chill or you might get snow and wind chill.
Have you ever played a Snow Bowl game?
Oh, not a snow bowl, but a snow game. Maybe it snowed a lot this week, but it was really, really cold in this game, so yeah, I had, so it’s just a different experience than being here in LA and the West Coast, in the sun all the time .
Have you been to LA before?
I’ve been here once on vacation, but that’s about it. Only once.
how do you adjust Do you follow the lead of your teammates?
Yeah that’s right, I’m just trying to understand what they’re doing and understand everything around, my environment, I’m just adjusting really well and I’m loving it here.
Beach days?
no I’m not really a beach guy. I spend more time in the movie theater while downloading the book.
Do you play more left-handed than right-handed?
I play left-handed, but we are versatile, we learn every position and we are ready.
DTR and Charbonnet?
Love it. I love it, not only them but our whole team is like that, not just the two of them but our whole team is like that, we are well rounded as a team.
Rutgers vs UCLA Comparison?
What I experienced here is great. It was love in both places – love in both places and love here. It’s a really, really strong culture in both places and I love it.
Impressed by Maffei’s 70-pound loss?
Yes, yes. I’m really impressed and very happy for it, I’ve heard the stories about it and I’m amazed. I’ve seen it before, so it’s really impressive how we big guys can do it and keep it up. Some people say we can’t do that, but look, we’re going to prove that wrong.
DiGiorgio is a younger guy fighting for snaps after Rhyan and Anderson are gone – what have you seen of him?
I’m really impressed with it. It’s not just him, it’s all of our young guys—they come here and work in the film room, study extra, get extra work, I’m impressed with all of them because they came here to work and they came here to play. It’s not just one guy, it’s all the young guys out there, I’m really impressed with all of them.
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